Semi-weekly interior journal. [volume] (Stanford, Ky.) 1881-1905, 1887-12-02
CONNECTICUT C00NS.
FAMOUS COON DOGS OF THE
NOTED DEVILS HOP YARD"


Down Ou, of the Tree-Coon suppers.
Fighting the Dogs.
The coon season sets in in Connecticut
about the middle Of September and continues
until cold weather, but the farmers do not
make business Of the sport until after
the corn has been huskcd and other
autumn chores have been done The coon is
ripeSt and lucIcst in the period between Oct.
II and Nov II. and. Icing stuffed full II
Indian corn, fall poultry, ch,Stnuts and
aCurns, he Is less nlmhle. lac cannot run 40
far after the dogs once get on his trail. His
wits are not ~ sharp either, and usually Hs
soon the first hue and cry Of lot of stat
wHIt country lads. with a couple Of excited
dogs. is borne Ia him ON the still, crisp au-
tumn air he waddles away into the heart -
tho most convenient swamp, pulls his curpu-
lent body Ia the top Of an evergreen VI black
oak tree and waits for the chsse II the night
II starlit IT is an easy thing to do "a pick him
of his lofty perch with "a charge of No.
shot driven with thres-and -a-half drachms
Of powder behind his for,shouder A fat
coon that has lcen shot in this way usually
SITE still and thinks "A moment until he has
fully made up his mind that IN, burden il
more than he can bear then he topples Cou-
tentcdly over and comes tuinblng down
among the tree limbs with the punky thud 81
dcCsyed pumpkin rolling out Of cart lie
strikes the ground, "A large round hall Of fur.
AMI instantly four arms tippd with sharp
hooks shoot out just in time Ia catch two
dogs that have bss.n excit.Sily waiting for
this at In the entertainment The coon has
now bccume "a luz .sw and each time that
be revolves dog loses several pcc,v of his
hide or hit Of his ear or lip over and over
the thrr animals spin. dogs Snarling and
swapping, coon biting and striking and splut-
tcI1ng and the revolutions de- not was, until
the motiye power gives cut and the cunn l.
limp hag Of fat IA the jaws Of bis fierce FOES
After the game has h,vn killed one 81 the
hunters throws Il over his shoulders and The
dogs are driven oil into the wuu.is e. look up
a new uall
The BEST COON REGION.
The h->t coon country in Connecticut l. the
rocky, wooded, picturesque region between
the Connecticut and Thames river. IL y the
klnd Of "a land that "a coon rcvclr and grows
fat in There ARE rich meadows and Aralle
blllsides. here farmers can raiss fine corr
for cuuns, there arc almost inI-netraht
swamIs, o. which cuons can retire ia times ct
str,-s th,gc 6re deep, gloomy valleys, walled
IN 10y fruwning. chaotic mhSSs> 81 rucks. that
are pierced hy winding chambers and cavi
ties, and there are long forests Il bi. tr,s-,
with hole IN every fifth tr,,, into vhich q
C,un can slip IA the early morning after a
night Of u IN the corn lot or at "a farmers
poultry yard.
About fourteen miles west 81 Norwich. ard
six or seven from the Connecticut river. l. "a
deep valley 81 singular formation that IL ~
markablc for wild and fantastic srncry IL
il known IN half the state a. the Devils Hop
Yard. and II il the center II tract e
country 81 legendary renuwn. Here cOpns
and witches have h,u hunted from an irn.
memorial time. At the north rearing trout
str,am leaIS through u Jagged threat in III"
hills over lowlders and lelgcs. sixty feet r
more. into the valley, which expands IN
either hand until IL - half rni.c in width in
it, hroadest part and rishes through a mar.
row gap between vertical prcCipicts three
miles t-low AT the southern limit Of the hul
yard. On each side the valley J. hcmnlcd Ia
by perpendicular almost seamless walls IL
block granite. the mountains are hegirt 10y a
wide wilderness, with here and there farm
amid the wo,is, and. far IA thu business 81
men IL concerned, II il practically out Of IN,
world The Devils Hop Yard. ~ call Il L..
caus-, the devil us-d "a hop" in it with Had
dam witches before the world became to
dull and commonplace Tor "A romantic gentle
man in blhck with horns on his head ~ take
any interest IN IL, j., together with the en-.
virUning country, the paradise of econ hunt
ers and the nursery of typical c"un dogs
Nowhere else are the coon hunter and the
coon dog "a t. met with in Their full and com
plete glory.
1t requires an extraordinary dog for hunt
ttf, 4. ~ ~
cate aud fcetIug scent. II l. up to all n,
tricks Of the fox, too, in battling pursuit. =
there j. any process for breeding succ,->sf
coon dog II l. not known. setter or :.
pointer may do artistic work in hi own field
that no other dog can rival, and a foxhouud
may L. supcrb in his line, hut all mny b,
practically worthless for coon hunting 4
good coon dog may have n cross from az
other hunting dogs, and there may b. a
broad stripe 81 munErcl IN his make up, yet
no one eau Ray just what It il that make,
him great IN his Srofcssion. There ar,
scores Of coon dos hut "A first rate one L.
rare, and his value priceless
THE TYPICAL coon DOG.
4 good coon dog j, born, not made He l.
the Scutchman, or Yankee, Of the canine
sIccic~-oue trait he must possess above all
others, h. must IL canny. The Devils Hop
Yard raises the best coon dogs There ar
pro, ably dozen dogs, owned 10y farmers in
its fcglon about the yard, that cannot lc
b0aght for SO, and for one or two of the
number 900 bill would appeal in vain for
acceptance 10y way of exchange. Yet two OF
them are homeiy, shaggy looking fellows
| about the farm, with brown coats and mild
! brown ryes, and another is apparently a
| cross between "A foXhound and "A shepherd
! dog. In the head of each, just above the
! eyes, Is bump that sticks out like "A knob on
an oak root; that bunch is supposed 10 con-
tain the combination that Is set for coons
/ without which they would not be worth $50
and 500 apiece.
The hunters Of the hop yard have done lit
/ tie else since the first day Of October but stir
3 up the coUns. There is little money in hunt
ing them for their fur or their meat but il is
customary each fall for hunters to drive out
20 the yard from Norwich New London
Middetown. and from Moodus and the Had
dams on the Connecticut river for a night OF
coon hunting, and the local hunters act a.
guides. In this way the famous dogs are
worth their price a. their masters. There i.
something wrong with the night or with thu
| hunters If one of these parties returns at ia "
! light with less than from four to ten coOns
| The hunters go home with their load OF
! game, the youngest and latest animal /.
carefully dressed by "A caterer and roasted
and at night the party and their friends have
CtfF x1h NIT